Rotoworld is reporting the Tampa Bay Rays picked Derek Rodriguez 19th in the Rule 5 draft today. Between Birmingham and Charlotte, he had an ERA of 3.29 and 88 strikouts to 33 walks in 79 and a third innings.

Part 1: The Major League Portion: This is where teams can pick someone off another team that isn't on the 40 man. But if a team drafts this player, he MUST be on the 25 man roster for the drafting team for the entire season. If not, he usually goes back to the former team. So Rodriguez has to stay on TB major league roster all year, or we get him back.Part 2 & 3: The minor league portion: This is where teams can pick someone off another team's minor league squad (AA, A, etc) from the lower levels, and would be usually bumped up to the next level with their new team (if taken from an A ball team, they'll probably be on the AA team here). So the other 3 guys we lost, they will play for the next level of their new team.

It's not much of a loss, Valido is a failed high round pick that could never grasp hitting professional pitching, Nanita is a good fastball hitter that struggles with breaking stuff and plays no position passably, and Rice is a relief pitcher that is average at best, none of them deserved protection from the draft.

It's not much of a loss, Valido is a failed high round pick that could never grasp hitting professional pitching, Nanita is a good fastball hitter that struggles with breaking stuff and plays no position passably, and Rice is a relief pitcher that is average at best, none of them deserved protection from the draft.

What about Derek Rodriguez? Does he have any shot in the world at being a serviceable MLB reliever? Was he worth protecting?

Part 1: The Major League Portion: This is where teams can pick someone off another team that isn't on the 40 man. But if a team drafts this player, he MUST be on the 25 man roster for the drafting team for the entire season. If not, he usually goes back to the former team. So Rodriguez has to stay on TB major league roster all year, or we get him back.Part 2 & 3: The minor league portion: This is where teams can pick someone off another team's minor league squad (AA, A, etc) from the lower levels, and would be usually bumped up to the next level with their new team (if taken from an A ball team, they'll probably be on the AA team here). So the other 3 guys we lost, they will play for the next level of their new team.

For every player that a team chooses in this round, it costs $50K. If the player taken does not stick on the 25 man roster one of two things usually happen. 1st he is offered back to his original team for $25k. If that happenes, the team that took him in the rule 5 draft gets back $25K. The other most common option is that a trade is worked between the two teams that allow the new team to retain the player's rights w/o being on the 25 man roster.

For every player that a team chooses in this round, it costs $50K. If the player taken does not stick on the 25 man roster one of two things usually happen. 1st he is offered back to his original team for $25k. If that happenes, the team that took him in the rule 5 draft gets back $25K. The other most common option is that a trade is worked between the two teams that allow the new team to retain the player's rights w/o being on the 25 man roster.

The team he was drafted from also has the option to give up rights to the player and keep the 50K, the Sox got a pitcher that way a few years ago, but I don't remember his name.

If the Sox have such a bad farm system (I'm not including this or last year's draft class in the statement because, one, they weren't eligible to be taken, and, two, I think they were pretty good, particuarly 2008's), how come 4 guys were taken from the Sox? And we picked no one?